On the weekends, Karen Easton works at Kokoman Fine Wine and Liquors. She does it because she loves wine. As a wine connoisseur, she enjoys her time serving during the wine tastings and dusting the wine bottles.

Wine nerd Karen Easton

A few months ago, Easton was attending a wine tasting event where distributors brought all their wines and let people sample them. In the corner was a wine representative who wasn’t getting a lot of attention.

SANTA FE -- Santa Fe City Councilor Joseph Maestas announced today that he met with the Santa Fe City Clerk to formally begin a campaign to seek the Office of Mayor in lieu of a bid for re-election of his City Council District 2 position.

Councilor Maestas released the following statement:

“I’ve devoted my entire adult life to public service as a Federal civil servant and municipal elected official.

LANL is recognized as a top diversity employer by LATINA Style and STEM Workforce Diversity Magazine. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

For the second straight year, Los Alamos National Laboratory is recognized as a top diversity employer by LATINA Style and STEM Workforce Diversity magazine. Los Alamos rose in ranking to 10 on STEM Workforce Diversity magazine’s Top Government Employers list and to 41 on LATINA Style’s Top 50 Companies list.

“We are pleased that the Laboratory is being recognized for its efforts to build a diverse and engaged workforce.

Chick Keller will share relationships between climate and astronomy during a presentation Sept. 22 at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Courtesy photo

PEEC News:

Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is planning a special planetarium show and presentation by Chick Keller at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22.

PEEC is also bringing in a new full-dome film Aurora Storm that will play in at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24, in the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium. The Saturday and Sunday screenings include three films, Aurora Storm, SunStruck and SolarQuest.

Kim Davis Lebak, manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Field Office, will retire after nearly 30 years at the Energy Department.

Davis, who has managed the Los Alamos Field Office for the past three years or so, will leave the agency in “early October,” a spokesperson for the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency said Monday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) Monday applauded the inclusion of their Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act as part of the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2018 (FY18).

Their bipartisan legislation was introduced as an amendment (#1006) to the FY18 NDAA to modernize government information technology (IT), eliminate wasteful spending and strengthen cybersecurity.

“The MGT Act is a perfect example of what we can accomplish when we seek common-sense solutions in a bipartisan way,”

SANTA FE ― Yesterday, the New Mexico Department of Transportation announced the sponsorship of annual statewide child safety seat clinics.

The clinics will be held 10:00 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Sept. 23. The clinics will take place in eight cities and nine different locations as part of National Child Passenger Safety Week Seat Check Saturday.

“We are pleased to be able to offer these clinics to the parents and caregivers of New Mexico.

It’s a long season for boys’ golf in New Mexico, and the Los Alamos Hilltoppers golf team got the ball rolling by capturing the 10-team Los Alamos High School Invite title this past weekend with a team score of 325. The ‘Toppers were led by team captain Sean Rau who posted a team low 76 to tie for second place. Hope Christian’s Jacob Lucero would win the individual title with a final score of 71.

On the Job in Los Alamos is Dan Sena, owner of Daniel’s Café and Mary’s Gelato at 800 Trinity Dr. Sena is serving ice cream at Wednsday's campaign kick-off event for the United Way of Northern New Mexico at Ashley Pond. Sena and his wife Margie have been selling ice cream in town for more than 25 years. They raised their three children; Nadette, Jake and Adrienne in Los Alamos. They are pleased to bring the community a nice place to have ice cream and other fine foods. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined a bipartisan group of six other senators Sept. 18 urging U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer to help New Mexico's pecan farmers increase exports by taking action to lower the tariffs on pecan exports to India.

India’s current high tariffs on pecans are impacting New Mexico and American pecan farmers, and have created a trade barrier not imposed on other tree nut producers.

In a letter to Lighthizer, the senators note that the current tariff on U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE ― Yesterday, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced he has written credit reporting firm Equifax to protest the firm's policy of charging for some credit monitoring services after a security breach caused by the firm's own mistakes.

Joining with attorneys general from around the country in a letter to Equifax, the New Mexico Attorney General protested that charging for credit monitoring after the breach affecting 143 million people could be seen as profiting from the firm's own mistakes.

With Hispanic Heritage Month in full swing and the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy in question, drawing economic and demographic implications for the U.S., the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s Most & Least Diverse States in America.

To determine where the most idea and identity exchanges have occurred at the highest level in the U.S.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan, standing, is the featured speaker at a ‘Celebration of Philanthropy’ hosted by the United Way of Northern New Mexico Board of Directors, Friday evening Sept. 8 at the Pig + Fig Café in White Rock. The annual event is a celebration and an informational gathering. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

The crowd listens as LANL Director Charlie McMillan speaks about the importance of the laboratory engaging in the community. The UWNNM Board includes President Steve Boerigter, Vice President Carol A.

Trail volunteers using a 2-person crosscut saw to remove a fallen tree from the trail. Courtesy/NPS

Volunteers who just finished making stonework to support trail. Courtesy/NPS

BANDELIER News:

One of Bandelier National Monument’s most scenic and popular trails, the Frijoles Canyon Trail between Upper Crossing and Alcove House, can now be hiked without having to climb over the huge logjams and other barriers caused by the floods following the 2011 Las Conchas Fire.

For several years volunteer crews have been gradually working their way up the canyon, making spaces in the debris piles,

Harriet A. Dodder, 87, a resident of Los Alamos, passed away on August 27, 2017 at the Los Alamos Medical Center following a sudden illness, with her nephew, nieces and lifelong friends by her side.

Harriet was born in Pine City, MN November 24, 1929 to Hans and Salma Grandt. She attended country school and graduated from Pine City High School in 1947. She went to the University of Minnesota to obtain a teaching degree. She also met her future husband, Donald Dodder, who was getting a graduate degree in nuclear physics. They married in 1951

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― The Department of the Interior announced Friday that the Bureau of Reclamation is awarding a construction contract of almost $62 million for part of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in New Mexico to increase the supply of clean drinking water to surrounding communities.

“This contract is a big step toward completing the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, which is a top priority as it fits into the administration's commitment to improving infrastructure,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said.

New Mexico State Police Ofc. Toby LaFave reached a milestone Sept. 8 very few can say, he made his 100th DWI arrest of the year.

For those who know and work with Ofc. LaFave this appeared to be business as usual, given his previous accolades and work ethic. He has been with the New Mexico State Police for six years, with eight years' experience prior, and in that relatively short time frame has amassed numerous awards and recognitions.